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Depression as A Trauma Related Disorder: How Depression Affects People in the United States, and are They Getting the Right Treatment?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 9.5 percent of the population (20.9 Million) adults suffer from depression. From that clinical depression can contribute to eating disorders, on the other hand an eating disorder can lead to a state of clinical depression (Stellifson, Medical University of South Carolina 1998)

2% of the general population suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, 75% are female.

1 in every 33 children, and 1 in every 8 adolescents may have depression (US Center for Mental Health Services [CMHS], 1996).

2/3 of children with mental health problems do not get the help they need (CMHS, 1996).

Almost 1/3 of 6 to 12 year old children diagnosed with major Depression will develop Bipolar disorder within a few years. as it tends to show up in early adulthood (AACAP, 1995).

4 out of every 5 runaway youths suffer from depression (US Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families).

Statistics MISSING CHILDREN: The U.S. Department of Justice reports • 797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day. • 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions. • 58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions. • 115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping. These crimes involve someone the child does not know or a slight acquaintance who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.

Study done in the 1990's by the AACAP

Suicide is the THIRD leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. That is approximately 5,000 young people. Suicide is the SIXTH leading cause of death for 5-15 year olds. The rate of suicide for 5 to 24 year olds has nearly tripled since 1960 according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry [AACAP] and this study was done more than 10 years ago (AACAP 1994).

More recent, was a study released in the September issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry, shows a 14 percent increase in suicide rates for children and adolescents under the age of 19 from 2003 to 2004. The second study, published in the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, shows an eight percent increase in suicide rates for individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 in 2004, following a 28 percent decrease over the last 15 years. This is the largest escalation in this group since the agency began collecting suicide data in 1979.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's report, the decline took place from 1990 to 2003 (from 9.48 to 6.78 per 100,000 people), and the increase took place from 2003 to 2004, (from 6.78 to 7.32).

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More than half of Americans, young and old suffer from conditions generally not considered Trauma related.

Some of these conditions are:

Depression

Borderline Personality Disorder

Anxiety Disorder

Addictions:

alcohol

drugs

sex

internet/media porn

gambling

spending

Self harming behaviors

Eating Disorders

Most of the people that suffer from the above mentioned conditions have suffered a traumatic experience of some sort in their lives. Without the correct issues ever being addressed, they continue to be treated symptomatically. As long as the core issues go untreated, the symptoms will continue, and the psychological band aid will continually be placed, only to fall off again exposing the open wound.

Traumatic experiences range anywhere from medical procedures at a very early age, dealing with learning differences, sexual abuse, physical abuse and or emotional neglect. Divorce has been on the rise since the 1970's and increasingly leave children grieving the death of the family unit as they knew it.

MEN/YOUNG MEN

Men and Young Men Suffer from sexual addictions, alcoholism, drug addictions, gambling, child pornography, internet pornography, gender confusion, self harming behaviors, anxiety, depression and pressure to perform and provide for a family. The Stress that men are under in the United States alone is unbelievable. As cost of living rises, pay decreases, taxes are on the increase, private schools are rising in costs, along with colleges and education on every level. More and more emphasis is placed on material possessions, and keeping our children up with the "the Jones' kids" puts even more pressure on parents in homes where the man is the only one that is bringing in a paycheck.

It is easy to see how depression can rear its ugly head under circumstances such as these, but if one suffers from clinical depression to begin with, it can only increase the symptoms that men feel in our country. No wonder men are increasingly finding other ways to deal with everything they have to deal with in order to survive.

Young men suffer from just as many issues as young women in their teens. While eating disorders are more prevalent among women, young men are just as prone and suffer just as young women do. There are probably just as many young men that have eating disorders, only they go undiagnosed. Most parents, teachers and clinicians think in terms of this being a disorder that affects only women. Young men are much less likely to report sexual or physical abuse because of the stigma that it delivers. Most abuse and rape cases reported are by females, not young men. Young men are raped by teachers, leaders of churches and youth groups, aggressive older men, women and strangers. Nathan W. Pino, Robert F. Meier, writes in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, (June, 1999) "The present study used the National Sample Rape Subset for the years 1979-1987 of the National Crime Victimization Survey to examine and compare male and female rape and rape reporting behavior. The odds of men reporting rape are less than those for women, but both men and women are more likely to report victimization when there was physical evidence of the crime to corroborate their claims. Women, but not men, were affected by such considerations as whether the assailant is a relative, whether a weapon was present, education and income background, and whether or not something was stolen during the rape."

Men are much more prone to develop sexual addictions at an early age thanks to the internet and the ease of pornographic sites that offer "free tours" and teenagers are often inadvertently exposed to porn when they conduct unrelated Web searches, said Patricia Greenfield, a psychology professor and director of UCLA's Children's Digital Media Center (March 2005).

Parents that struggle with sexual addictions usually think that their children will not discover their secrets. But they do, from the history that they forget to clear on the internet, to the media porn that they try to hide in their closets. If parents think that children do not go through their things while they are gone, they are sadly mistaken. Unfortunately, that seems to be a lesson that parents pass down to their children. Keeping secrets themselves, telling the children that its ok to do the same. If more parents realized that the contents of our children's rooms, and the very room that is in the house that parents own, actually belong to the parents...then that also means that parents have the right to have "room check" anytime they feel that it's necessary. Maybe more and more parents would find "signs" that our children are keeping very big secrets and living very different lives than what they present to the parents. And many would find the very magazines that were once in their own closets, now in their young son's room.

The pressure from peers to engage in alcohol, drugs, and smoking are much more prevalent among young men and these teens have a certain acceptance as "young men just sowing their wild oats" or "they are just being a teen", when in fact it is all a coping mechanism for physical or emotional trauma that men in general find hard to express or deal with. Since men struggle in general with communication, and expressing their "feelings" many young men grow into men that keep problems to themselves, and it only manifests into problems that creep into everyday life when put under major stress.

TEENS

More than half of American teenagers have engaged in drugs, alcohol or sex before the age of 13. Most have self harming behaviors that go unnoticed by parents and teachers. Cutting is the number one self harming behavior, and its usually done on a part of the body that will go unnoticed. The genital area is the most popular because it is undetectable. Many develop infections that go untreated because of the need to keep their cutting a secret. For most, its the secretive aspect of the behavior just as much as it is the behavior itself.

With the rise of self proclaimed "EMO" groups and Goth groups, teens have found a way of relating to others that feel similar feelings and emotions. They connect through self expressions such as dress, makeup, music and language. Most teens that belong to these groups are from middle to upper class families, and feel that they can not connect with their parents on any level. Most feel very controlled by their parents, and misunderstood by others in general. Others are bored teens whose parents refuse to "have anything to do with them" or are "too busy with work" to make that special connection with their children. The majority of the teens in either group suffer from some sort of depression or trauma related symptoms, have violent behavior or outbursts (AACAP March 2001), use drugs, drink and smoke as ways of acceptance and approval, but most of all coping.

More than half of these teens also suffer from learning disabilities that parents and teachers have either given up on, or go undiagnosed. They have spent the formative years struggling and have ended up labeled "difficult" "troubled" or "disabled" all because their brain functions differently, and no one was there to recognize this and validate the young child. As a result these children grow to teens who have a tremendous amount of trauma related symptoms and disorders. Parents, teachers, and Doctors tend to focus on the wrong issues creating more problems for the next generation of Americans.

Dr. Thomas F. Anders, President of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, states, "Whether the rise in Teen Suicide is a short-term spike or the start of a trend, we must do everything in our power to prevent more teen suicides from occurring." He calls on all physicians, educators, parents, and teens to learn the signs of suicidal behavior and to take action when they observe symptoms. (Anders, T.F., AACAP, 2007)

WOMEN/YOUNG WOMEN

Women and Young Women suffer from abusive relationships, single mothers are forced to work in any situation to survive and care for their children. They are in constant competition with men in Corporate America. The media puts pressure on women to look, act, think, cook, even raise their children a certain way leaving many women feeling "less than". More and more Christian communities are putting pressure on women to "be" a certain way else they aren't as good as the "other" Christian women and Christian leaders of the church.

Many women suffer in silence as they battle internet pornography, or women who self harm just to "feel" alive or anything at all. They fight abusing their own children as a result of their own abuse issues, and stress from everyday life. They battle alcohol, drug abuse and spending as a way of dealing with the other issues they try so hard to hide and deal with in darkness.

Young girls are much more susceptible to eating disorders, depression, and low self esteem issues due to troubled home life. According to Donald Durham, program founder for Remuda Treatment Centers, eating disorders are often triggered by a specific traumatic event or set of circumstances that causes the person to use food as a solution to resolve her pain (Today's Christian Woman, July/August 2000). Then there are issues surrounding their friends and peer pressure. Which can certainly be very intense, and has worsened since the 60's and 70's. Early sexual activity due to internet connections, peer groups or trying to find acceptance and approval from fathers that are either absent due to death, divorce, or the pressure from the Corporate world that puts emphasis on performance in the United States.

Most girls who are sexually active drink, smoke, and experiment with drugs, suffer from eating disorders to some degree and have self harming behavior are from upper to middle class Christian homes all attending our proud "blue ribbon" schools. The problems with our teens are not in another country or in someone else's home...they are upstairs, in our own homes!

6 out of every 10 girls have suffered some sort of psychological trauma in their short lives (Mungadze, Jerry J. 1997). It either goes untreated unnoticed or over looked. Usually the trauma is sexual abuse, physical abuse or some sort of emotional abuse at the hands of a stressed parent, a parent that has abuse related issues themselves, a neighbor, a sibling, a friend of a sibling, an internet friend, or someone regarded as a church leader or school leader. More than half of these violations go unreported, and these young women suffer alone.

Most Americans suffer from some sort of psychological trauma in their lives whether it be from childhood abuse, physical abuse or emotional neglect, most go untreated and live their lives in turmoil struggling with the symptoms and disorders. Unless these issues are resolved, then the symptoms will continue to plague Americans, and the cycle will continue.

Most people start trying to get help from their general practitioners. They are then started on some sort of antidepressant or anxiety medication. It can take up to 4 to 6 weeks before the full affects of the medication can be felt. Many times it takes many different combinations of medications before the symptoms can be alleviated. Many people lose their patience and start going from doctor to doctor, Psychiatrist to Psychiatrist just trying to find some relief. They believe as many doctors that most mental health problems can be controlled through medications. Patients are then referred to therapists that try to help them deal with the symptoms that they are struggling with, and many do not realize that these problems are just symptoms of psychological trauma: Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder, Addictions, Self harming behaviors, and eating disorders. Most people find relief temporarily and then something happens that trigger the thoughts, feelings or behaviors, or stress in life is just too great and these symptoms return.

Many Americans that suffer from some sort of psychological trauma related symptom or disorder have physical ailments that cause them chronic pain. As Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD sites, "PTSD develops after exposure to events that are intensely distressing. Extreme stress is accompanied by the release of endogenous neurohormones, such as cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, vasopressin, oxytocin, and endogenous opioids. These hormones help the organism to mobilize the energy required to deal with the stress; they induce reactions ranging from increased glucose release to enhanced immune function. In a well-functioning organism. Stress produces rapid and pronounced hormonal responses. However, chronic and persistent stress inhibits the effectiveness of the stress response and induces desensitization".

Most people that have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, have suffered some sort of psychological trauma in their lives. As a study conducted at Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Women with FM reported more physical symptoms and were significantly different on multiple indices of health compared with controls. Twenty-six FM subjects (65%) reported sexual abuse. In order to deal with the pain of the physical disorders they are usually prescribed some sort of narcotic (Hydrocodone, codeine, Norco, or other opiates). As a result of struggling with inner turmoil, as well as trying to "stuff" their problems, and cope with everyday life...some develop addictions. This can affect health, coping, cloud judgment, and bring about financial ruin which in turn adds more pressure on the person fighting these battles.

So the average housewife that started out in the beginning; trying to cope with medications, and weekly therapy (to try to help her deal with the depression), finds herself struggling with more symptoms, more physical ailments, more narcotic medications (that make her feel numb to everything around her, until she just can not function), is forced to get off the narcotics that she was depending on to help her feel numb yet normal. She is then thrown into a full blown crisis, adding to the original list of symptoms.

How does this cycle end?

We have found that if people would take a closer look at the struggles that they are battling, and look at them as symptoms rather than a diagnoses, most would eventually see the correlation to the psychological trauma that they suffered. It does not always have to be physical or sexual abuse. It can be emotional neglect, spiritual abuse, it can be a major surgery when very young, it can be fighting in a war, or living in a third world country during very hostile times.

It can be a grown man remembering that as a young child people made fun of him in school because he could not keep up with the others. As he grew to be tall and lanky and awkward he started being very aggressive to try and deal with the pain of being ignored, un-liked, and never getting help for his learning differences.

It can be a beautiful young woman that struggles with her weight, (even though at 5'4 she is 103 pounds). She feels fat and ugly. She struggles mostly with trying to get the love and approval of her father who never was very involved with her when she was very young. According to Jerry Mungadze, PhD "The impact that Trauma has on the individual is huge! It has its affect on the human psyche and shows up as mental disorders, damaged relationships, distorted thinking, intrusive thoughts, severe memory problems. It has an affect on the physical body; permanent injuries through self harming behaviors, neurological problems, scars. And it also has an affect on the spiritual condition; feelings of being abandoned by God, development of foreign spiritual beliefs, a sense of alienation from God, and development of negative feelings towards God and church." (Mungadze, Jerry J 1997)

Is it important to remember every single detail of an abuse or psychological trauma?

The most important thing to remember is that it did happen, and it did affect you. Learning to deal with how it affects your brain, and how the brain dealt with it at that time is most important. Re-training the brain to deal with the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that the trauma caused, is very healing and most will find that slowly the symptoms that they struggled with throughout their lives... start to disappear one by one, or become more manageable.

The key is awareness, education, and finding the right treatment that will work towards finding the cause for the symptoms, and help in the healing process. With the research that has been done over the last several years in neuroscience, we have come to understand more and more about the brain, the different parts of the brain that are affected during trauma, and we have also come to understand more, about how the survivor deals with trauma.

Maybe one day, we will discover a way to make the abuse stop as well.

Where To Go For Help

If you or a loved one is a victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse; there are several organizations you can research for help:

IVAT,

National Domestic Violence Hotline,

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation,

Your Local Mental Health Facility.

This article is not intended to replace the attention of a doctor or mental health professional. If you feel that you need help, or are in danger of hurting yourself please dial 911, or contact your local emergency room. This article is in no way an advertisement, or promoting one mental health professional over another mental health program or professional. It is intended to raise awareness about the newest studies in neuroscience, how trauma affects depression in the united states, and how depression is mistreated and misdiagnosed. Please seek help in your immediate area if you feel that you have any of the symptoms listed above.

References

National Institute of Mental Health. Statistics, 1995

US Center for Mental Health Services [CMHS], 1996

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, [AACAP] 1995

Understanding Violent Behavior In Children and Adolescents. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, No. 55 March 2001

Statistics on Runaways in the United States. Information From the US Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families, 1994

Statistics On Missing Children in The United States. The U.S. Department of Justice, 2002

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Concerned by Teen Suicide Increase Dr. Thomas F. Anders, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, AACAP September 2007

Child and Adolescent Suicide at Highest Rate in Fifteen Years. The American Journal of Psychiatry, Washington, D.C., September 2007

Study on Teen Suicide. Centers For Disease Control, September 2007

Morbidity and Morality Weekly Report. Prevention, September 2007

Overcoming Anorexia. Today's Christian Woman. Vol. 22, No. 4, Page 34, Donald Durham, July/August 2000

Gender Differences in Rape Reporting - Statistical Data Included: Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. Nathan W. Pino, Robert F. Meier. June 1999

UCLA's Children's Digital Media Center. Patricia Greenfield PhD March 2005

"The Body Keeps the Score: Memory and the Evolving Psychobiology of Post Traumatic Stress". Bessel A. van der Kolk, Massachusetts General Hospital, Trauma Clinic, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. 1994

Treating Dissociative Identity disorder an Update. Jerry Mungadze PhD, Treatment Today Magazine, Vol. 9.2, 1997